As the launch of the first round of applications for the New gTLD program draws nearer, ICANN are stepping up their game in the campaign to raise awareness. Last month it was announced that ICANN had allocated $750k for the advertising campaign surrounding the New gTLD program, and the budget would cover a multinational, multi lingual effort to advertise the benefits of the program.

ICANN are currently preparing multi lingual material to allow community members to raise awareness and broadcast the key information about the program to the target audiences. The material will be available to download from the ICANN website from September this year.

Earlier this week ICANN posted a news item on their official website, appealing for members of the community to come forward with ways they can increase the visibility of the program. All ideas are to be directed to Natalie Schoer at least one month in advance of the potential opportunity.

Specifically, ICANN are looking for possible events where they can participate and spread the word to an appropriate audience. If you want to suggest an event, you will need to know the event date, time and location, as well as the sponsoring organisation, the expected audience and the name of the event organisers.

Due to limited resources ICANN can’t promise that they will participate in every event, but they are keen to participate in as many as they can, to reach out to audiences they perhaps wouldn’t usually speak to, especially if key members of the audience are influential and able to spread the word further.

ICANN are judging the potential of each suggested event based on a number of different criteria. Some of which are:

Partnership Opportunities – If there are other organisations participating, or attending, the event that would represent partnership opportunities for ICANN, then taking part will have an extra incentive. After all, multiple organisations benefiting from ICANN’s participation is ultimately a better idea!

Quality of the Speaking Opportunity – If there is an opportunity for a key note address or other high visibility speaking slot then this represents a valuable opportunity to reach a larger portion of the attending audience. ICANN will also be looking at whether the event is professionally run and promoted.

Media Potential – Again, if it’s likely that the event will be televised or subject to news coverage then this gives them a greater chance to reach out to more potential customers beyond the stakeholders that ICANN usually communicate to.

Marketing potential – If the event features opportunities to communicate to the target audience beyond just a speaking slot, then the event is likely to represent an attractive platform to reach people using different media.

If you want to suggest an event, or other opportunity to promote the New gTLD program, you can read more about it here!

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